I was wondering everyone's opinion on MOJOS spinning wing decoys. The battery operated mallard/teal/bluebill/woody. I keep hearing that MOJOS are starting to make ducks flare hard from spreads. What is your opinion? And what motion decoys are you replacing them with?

Mine didn't touch the water last season. Everyone around me had between 2-6 in their decoys. The guy without a mojo got the ducks. But on my private property, we usually have luck with just 1 even though we did just fine without it. There's a time and place for them.

A BAD DAY AT THE MARSH BEATS A GOOD DAY AT WORK.

killwoodies101 wrote:your a dudshe bag! You dont own the river your dont own any property around it.. Its just as mush mine and any other tom **** and harry's as it is yours !! get a life share what is yours or stop hunting

I haven't used a spinner in water for years, but they are very effective in field hunting. My 80 year old dad puts a single lucky duck in a cut corn field and shoots limits consistently with no other decoys at all. I think it all depends on what part of the country you are in whether they are effective or not over water. I don't think they hurt anything, but I also don't think they help either. where we hunt and it's just another heavy piece of equipment I leave at the house. They sure did good 10 years ago. I've found a jerk cord set up to be more effective for our hunting situation.

woodduck31 wrote:I haven't used a spinner in water for years, but they are very effective in field hunting. My 80 year old dad puts a single lucky duck in a cut corn field and shoots limits consistently with no other decoys at all. I think it all depends on what part of the country you are in whether they are effective or not over water. I don't think they hurt anything, but I also don't think they help either. where we hunt and it's just another heavy piece of equipment I leave at the house. They sure did good 10 years ago. I've found a jerk cord set up to be more effective for our hunting situation.

Of course old dad uses a motorless decoy. I'd love to know if he shoots an old model gun as well. For my dad, it's the old New England 10 gauge single shot for everything.

A BAD DAY AT THE MARSH BEATS A GOOD DAY AT WORK.

killwoodies101 wrote:your a dudshe bag! You dont own the river your dont own any property around it.. Its just as mush mine and any other tom **** and harry's as it is yours !! get a life share what is yours or stop hunting

JuniorPre 360 wrote:Mine didn't touch the water last season. Everyone around me had between 2-6 in their decoys. The guy without a mojo got the ducks. But on my private property, we usually have luck with just 1 even though we did just fine without it. There's a time and place for them.

Junior we tried that this year and it backfired on us. The 2 groups of guys using the spinners got 80% of the birds that day. I don't believe it was that our decoys were in a bad spot either as the spot we hunted was usually the honey hole. My theory for what its worth is that birds that have been in the area a long time have probably been shot at several times and have learned to avoid decoy spreads with spinners and will decoy to spreads without the spinners better, new birds will be fooled by the spinners and work them accordingly

Hard to imagine spinners ever becoming obsolete, but "The Robo giveth and the Robo sendeth away." How much of which it does depends a lot on where and what you're hunting. They've certainly taken much of the need for pinpoint scouting out of dry field mallard hunting, and it's still a rare day when teal turn their tails to them, even late season in areas with spinners on every pond. Spinners toll birds for those who can't manage it with calling and draw attention from those who are poorly concealed, so a lot of folks are better off with them, regardless. Then, too, there are folks who call and hide well, run them all hunt every hunt and feel they're more boon than bane. Others pick and choose their usage.

I'm one of those "others" and only run one more or less continuously for teal hunts or when I've big duck parties that can't, or won't, hide well. Otherwise, I try to keep my Mojo as inconspicuous as possible by using the hen version with the old metal wings that can be rigged to usually stop dark side (which I paint to match the pond water) up when I stop it with a hard-wired remote switch in my permanent morning blind. Unless there aren't any teal in the marsh, I'll generally let it roll until big ducks are spotted, then kill it before I start calling, perhaps flipping it on and off for added draw if calling isn't cutting it. When away from my permanent blind, I don't fool with a spinner at all - with the exception being September teal season, when I might well go to the trouble of packing two in and out.

As for other motion devices, I won't use anything I can't readily control from the blind without giving our location away. I do have a hard-wired Mallard Machine at my permanent blind that eliminates the movement needed to run most jerk cord type rigs, but I find it of limited value and easy to overdo on big ducks, wouldn't fool with it in a less permanent situation and don't miss it a lick when hunting elsewhere.

In any event, of all the motion makers I'm aware of, I believe a judiciously used spinner will prove the most useful for most folks. (Pains me to say that, as I find them as aesthetically pleasing as a flashing neon sign in the pond and not nearly as satisfying to use as more traditional tools and skills.)

JuniorPre 360 wrote:Mine didn't touch the water last season. Everyone around me had between 2-6 in their decoys. The guy without a mojo got the ducks. But on my private property, we usually have luck with just 1 even though we did just fine without it. There's a time and place for them.

Junior we tried that this year and it backfired on us. The 2 groups of guys using the spinners got 80% of the birds that day. I don't believe it was that our decoys were in a bad spot either as the spot we hunted was usually the honey hole. My theory for what its worth is that birds that have been in the area a long time have probably been shot at several times and have learned to avoid decoy spreads with spinners and will decoy to spreads without the spinners better, new birds will be fooled by the spinners and work them accordingly

I think in my case the birds are all very well educated. Duck hunting in my state on public land has turned into a complete circus. Usually guys with the spinners, just on the lake I hunt, are shooting at EVERYTHING within 100 yards. This is a regular occurance. I know we do see more young birds than old landing in the decoys when we did use spinners a couple years ago. So you are definately on to something there.

A BAD DAY AT THE MARSH BEATS A GOOD DAY AT WORK.

killwoodies101 wrote:your a dudshe bag! You dont own the river your dont own any property around it.. Its just as mush mine and any other tom **** and harry's as it is yours !! get a life share what is yours or stop hunting

try placing them where birds can only see them for part of a fly by circuit...40-50% would be the ideal maximum...enough to catch the eye but if they cant keep watch on it they may not twig to the fake. we have one wind driven and a 2nd that will go wind or battery. the best is a floater with wings at 45* angle that gives ripples aswell as motion...funny part about that one is as batteries die down wings get slower and one goes faster than other....in that state it seems to work the best of all

opening was last weekendwe shoot a lake of about 400ha along with 20 other guysby Saturday afternoon the ducks were flaring so we took wing spinner in and they stopped flaringby Sunday they were flaring at the stillness of dekes eg they would circle and then keep going if we had plenty ripples going from dipper they were more inclined to landranging on Saturday morning..the guys with spinners were easy to find just look for the rhythmic flash and that is where I believe they fail..its just too constant and continuous

yip those with timers do seem to be a better option..one lot of guys had a 'splasher flasher' upright half decoy with flapping wings and water squirting out of base in a intermittent manner it looked good and yes they were on spotX but they shot more than anyone else for weekend.

IMO I dont think anything becomes obsolete. We still hunt every now and then with some inflatable decoys that are 30 yrs old. They look like crap compared to todays decoys but they still work. I think mojos have a certain situation where they are very effective.